Time To Take A Shot At Magic
by Mels.Ayynoa
Summary: Modern-day Hamilton Hogwarts AU. A bunch of American students get transferred to Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi! There are two things I'd like you to know before you read this:**  
 **1\. English is NOT my native language and I was basically taught by the Internet.**  
 **2\. I wrote this in the middle of the night while sitting on a bus to Paris. So there might be some 3-am-logic in this.**  
 **Now that I've gotten this off my chest: Please enjoy :D**

* * *

"Shouldn't you find a place to sit down while we are on our way?"

Alex flinched and turned around to see who had just spoken to him. He knew he'd eventually get in trouble (he was _Alexander Hamilton_ , for God's sake), but he hadn't planned on it happening so soon.

He recognized the man in front of him to be George Washington himself. He was one of the most famous men in the modern-day American Wizarding World, being especially known for single-handedly defending the Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry from an entire Werewolf Clan.

"Of course, Sir!" Alex quickly answered. "It's just, there's so much to see on this ship! Although, I don't know if you can really call it a ship, it looks much more like a train to me, now that I can see it from the inside."

Washington raised an eyebrow. "I can see why you're curious, but it's gonna be a long trip to Britain-"

"I know, Sir, almost a day, if I'm correct." Alex fidgeted with his hands. "I don't really like to be out on the water, but I thought, this exchange program was a good way to get to know, you know, _more._

Before Alex could decide whether he should add another "Sir" to his words, Washington already started speaking again.

"What do you mean? Did you not like Ilvermorny?"

"I, uh, actually I was homeschooled. I qualified for the exchange by writing an essay about Native American Magic, specifically from the Caribbean. My father _,_ " Washington noticed how he almost spat out the word, "Came from Scotland. He went to Hogwarts, so my Mum told me to go there as well if I was given the chance. My name is Alexander Hamilton. ...Sir."

Washington wanted to ask something, but Alex seemed a bit uncomfortable and he didn't want to pressure him into an unwanted conversation. He had heard of this boy, though he had expected someone older. But then again, Hamilton might just be a little small for his age. Small _and_ scrawny.

"Well, Mister Hamilton, I look forward to teaching you. But you should really find a place to sit, or else you're gonna have to stand the whole time."

Alex frantically nodded and saluted. He then made his way across the corridor, leaving a slightly puzzled Washington behind.

* * *

If he wanted to find a place to sit, Alex figured, he'd eventually have to start opening cabins to see if there was still some unoccupied space. Additionally he decided, he could just begin with the cabin he was standing in front of right now.

He took a deep breath, raised his hand to knock, and-

The door swung open before he'd even touched it. A dark-skinned boy, easily a head taller than Alex, peeked his head out.

"You the guy who just talked to Washington?"

"Uhh, yes?" Alexander was too confused to say anything else.

"You didn't tell him about Lafayette, didya? I swear, if you told him about Laf, then I-"

"I've never even heard of this 'Lafayette' guy!" Alex got frustrated. "I'm just looking for a place to sit!"

"You know" Another voice from inside the cabin. "It _might_ contribute to the overall status of secrecy if you _stopped saying his effing name,_ Herc."

The voice's owner appeared at the door. He was taller than Alex as well (but then again, who wasn't), wore his long curly hair in a ponytail and had at least a billion freckles on his face.

He eyed Alex for about two seconds, then he pulled him in.

"You seem fine, you can sit with us!"

The other guy (Herc? What a strange name!) quickly closed the door. He still seemed to be suspicious, but Alex didn't really notice. His entire attention now belonged to something else.

Inside the cabin were four seats. The freckled boy sat down on one of them, one apparently belonged to Herc, and one was empty. Well, empty in a way: at least half of it was occupied by two giant bags.

A blue jacket hung between this makeshift wall and the window, which caused the fourth and last seat to be more or less hidden.

As much as a construction this monstrous could hide anything.

"Is it safe?" Something, or rather some _one_ with a very strong French accent emerged from under the jacket. He too had dark skin, his frizzy black hair was tied together in a ponytail and he wore clothes that seemed to be slightly too small.

"Sure, Laf," Herc sighed.

"Qui est-ce que c'est?", the French guy asked, even though nobody seemed to understand him. Alex saw his chance to finally make some friends, and he wasn't going to let it slide.

"Je m'appelle Alexander Hamilton, à votre service." He gestured towards all of them before looking at the French boy again. "Et tu es cet 'Lafayette', c'est vrai?"

The freckled boy whistled, and Herc crossed his arms. "No fair!", he said. "John and I don't speak French!"

Ah, so now Alex knew all of their names. Despite this, he wished there had been a proper introduction, and he was also still standing in the cabin while everyone else had taken a seat.

He pointed at the bags on the half-empty seat. "Can I…?"

John immediately sprung to his feet to go and help Alex. The latter was impressed. While he himself was barely able to lift any of the bags, John didn't seem to mind the weight at all.

However, when he stored their luggage away, John's sleeves fell back and revealed his arms. Alex gasped when he saw the long, deep scar that began about an inch below John's wrist and disappeared behind the fabric of his black jacket. John noticed and quickly covered his arm again, looking embarrassed. He then pretended nothing had happened, and Alex did the same, taking a mental note to ask John about this in a more quiet moment.

After they had all sat down again, John cleared his throat.

"I am John Laurens, in case you wondered. Uh, your name was Alexander, right?"

"Alexander Hamilton, that's what he said to me, at least!", Lafayette interrupted before Alex could say anything. "And to answer your question: Oui, je suis Lafayette. That's what everyone calls me. My actual name is-"

"Waaaay too long for anyone to use, or even remember", Herc laughed. "My name is Hercules Mulligan, but my friends – and by 'friends' I mean those two idiots – call me Herc. I am Irish, but my family moved to America when I was a child."

"You still _are_ a child!", Lafayette remarked, but Hercules ignored him.

"My mother's a witch, she's pretty happy that I get to go to the same school that she went to when she was younger. She was a Gryffindor, y'know. Hey, do you think I'm a Gryffindor too?"

Alex didn't know much about the different houses of Hogwarts. Gryffindor was the Bravery house, right? He joined John and Lafayette and told Herc that yes, he'd surely be a Gryffindor.

"After all, you didn't even let me in because you thought I had talked to Washington about Lafayette-… Hey, speaking of, why was that?"

Lafayette grinned widely.

"I am not supposed to be here. I went to Beauxbartons, but I heard great stories about America, so I smuggled myself to New York."

"He dressed up as a girl, can you imagine?" John laughed, and Hercules added:

"He didn't even have proper pieces of clothing when he arrived at Ilvermorny! Just like that, he took it upon himself to find the school. At first, he pretended to be a lost exchange student, and nobody could really talk to him since he only spoke French. It was a disaster, but it was hilarious."

"So of course, they found out pretty quick", John continued. "But what could they really do at that point? He had already charmed half of the teachers – and I mean that in an entirely metaphorical way –, so they let him be for about two months. He learned English faster than you can imagine, and we became friends. Actually, Hercules was his first friend, because they were roommates, I think. I joined a little later, but that doesn't really matter, because now we're super close!"

Alex noticed how John's eyes lit up with excitement when he talked about his friends. It made him feel strange: On one hand, it emphasized how alone he'd felt since his mother's death, but it also gave him hope. He liked this weird little group, he liked everyone in it, and he was desperate to prove that he too was worthy of their friendship.

"But if you were more or less an official student, why all of… this?"

"Ah, you see," Lafayette continued, "Ilvermorny is a bit overcrowded at the moment. Some parts are being rebuilt, the security systems get renewed to match today's standards, so there are some very powerful wizards at work. They can't allow the students to disturb them, which is why they made this exchange program with Hogwarts, right? This is the reason for Herc and John to be here.

Me on the other hand, they were going to send me back to Beauxbartons, but I sneaked-"

"Snuck!"

"Yeah, that. I am pretty good at that by now. I ran away again, and the others helped me to get in here." He finished with a content smile.

Alex waited for something more. "And…?"

The French boy looked at him in confusion. "And what?"

"And what are you going to do now? They probably already know that you are not where you're supposed to be, and they will come looking for you.

Your name is not on the official list of students who will get to Hogwarts, which means-"

Alex noticed the worried (and terrified, in Lafayette's case) looks on their faces.

"Which _means_ that we have to convince them to let you stay with us."

He felt determined.

Then, the cabin door opened.

"I am looking for someone called 'Lafayette', is he here?"

* * *

 **I love writing Hercules. He's awesome.**

 **Specials thanks to my lovely (anonymous) co-author, who helps me with plot, worldbuilding, and character profiles.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey everyone!**

 **I'll try to update once a week, every Wednesday, if I can keep this up.  
**

 **This was originally going to be split into two chapters, but I couldn't find a cut that would provide for two separate chapter arcs, so here we go, one extra-long chapter with a more flowing plot. Enjoy!**

* * *

"I am looking for someone called 'Lafayette', is he here?"

 **Chapter 2**

The temperature dropped several degrees, or at least it felt like that to Alex. Hercules had gotten up in an attempt to draw attention away from Lafayette, who pulled up his legs to his knees in order to look smaller.

"Who wants to know?" Hercules asked, towering in front of the man who stood in the doorframe. Said man was clutching to an old-looking clipboard and had a restless expression on his face, but it was hard to tell if this was due to Hercules' efforts to intimidate him.

The stranger coughed. "I am Samuel Seabury. I am the personal assistant of George King the Third, who will accompany and supervise you on this odyssey, and who you will soon have the honour to call your Professor." Alex noticed how John rolled his eyes, but if Seabury noticed, he didn't show it. Instead, he raised an eyebrow and looked up at Hercules.

"And who are you, young man?"

"Hercules Mulligan."

Seabury looked at the papers in his hands. "Mulligan, Mulligan… Ah! I knew the name sounded familiar. You are listed here as one of Lafayette's associates. Then surely you," he pointed at John, "must be John Laurens, am I correct?"

John crossed his arms. "So?"

Seabury's eyes fell on Lafayette. "There you are. You should be coming with me, I am sure Mr. King and Mr. Washington would like to have a word with you."

* * *

Washington was listening to one of Kings rambles - "See, young people increasingly fail to learn the value of order and formality, it is a shame, really!" -, when a not-particularly-loud knock on the door interrupted their conversation. King's assistant, Seabury, entered, looking in a rush as usual.

"Mr. King, Sir, Mr. Washington, Sir – I found the runaway!" He dragged a boy, maybe 15 years old, into the room. Then, to Washington's surprise, three other children entered as well.

Seabury immediately tried to explain. "These are his friends, they insisted on coming here as well. Mr. Mulligan, Mr. Laurens, and… ahem…"

"Mr. Hamilton!" Washington furrowed his brows. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon."

"Excuse me, who _are_ these children? We haven't even reached Great Britain yet, and Mr. Lafayette here has already caused a lot more disorder than we need."

So this is George King, Alex thought. He immediately resented the man and the way he seemed to speak down to everyone around him.

"I'm sure you have heard of Mr. Hamilton. He managed to get a spot in this transfer program due to his skill with a pen." Washington looked directly at Alex. "And as I can see, you already made some friends."

"Yes, Sir. I know that I am probably not the most qualified person to speak up for Laf-, I mean, Mr. Lafayette, but please, hear me out." Alex cleared his throat.

"Although I have known him only for a very short amount of time - a _very_ short amount of time, really -, I firmly believe his story needs to be heard.

He came to America having only one thing in mind: Getting the best education possible. He never lost his determination, and he is now nearly fluid in a language he barely spoke when he arrived!

You decided to send a couple dozen of students to another country to ensure their education goes down undisturbed, yet you want to deny this privilege to someone who has struggled more than most of Ilvermorny's students to get this far!"

"Mr. Lafayette surely had a perfectly fine education at Beauxbartons!", King snarled. "The school might not be on the same level as Ilvermorny, let alone Hogwarts, but even then, aren't we obligated to return him to his family?"

"There is no one you can return me to!", Lafayette shouted, frustration dripping from his voice. "My parents died three years ago. They left me a lot of money, I can pay for the books and everything else, the only thing _you_ have to do is let me come with you! I have friends who will help me, I can make it!"

There was a moment of silence before Alex continued.

"Lafayette is not from America, and I just came to America a while ago. You are giving me the chance to become more than I ever could without this. I proved my eagerness by writing, Mr. Lafayette proved his by crossing an ocean. Doesn't he deserve the same kind of support that you are giving me?"

After he finished talking, Alex took a deep breath. Lafayette gave him an appreciative look, Hercules stared at him with his mouth half-open, and John…

John quickly smiled at him, then he looked down again and started to fidget with his sleeves.

"What a nice declaration!" King's sarcastic words drew Alex' attention away from his friends.

"How precious, a young boy standing up for his friend! However, Mr. Hamilton, I'm afraid we must tell you that-"

"No. He has a point."

King turned to Washington, looking irritated, almost offended at being interrupted.

"You can't be serious, Washington! Those are just some schoolboys who don't know how to stay out of trouble! You didn't seriously listen to this young man's suggestions, do you?"

Washington stood up.

"Mr. Lafayette. Are you sure that, instead of returning to France - returning to your home, returning to a school that you are familiar with and that teaches in French -, are you sure that instead of all of this, _and_ instead of staying in America, you want to travel to the United Kingdom together with other students you've known for only a minimal amount of time?"

"I could not be more sure."

King crossed his arms in annoyance, but Washington paid him no mind.

"If your decision stands, we will respect it. You can return to your seat now, I will contact Professor McGonagall at Hogwarts and inform her that we'll arrive with one additional student."

All four boys sighed in relief. Seabury opened the door, and Lafayette walked outside, followed by Hercules and John, who, as Alex noticed, was more stumbling than walking.

Just when Alex wanted to leave the room as well, Washington called him back. He swallowed.

"Yes, Sir?"

"Mr. King was not wrong."

At first, Alex didn't know what he meant, until Washington continued:

"You really should learn how to stay out of trouble."

"…Yes, Sir. I will do my best."

* * *

Alex slowly opened his eyes. He blinked a few times to shake off the dream he was already forgetting and tried to remember where he was. Oh, right. Yes.

He sat up straight and rubbed his neck. When had he fallen asleep? He remembered talking to his newly found friends until the stars came out and the lights inside got dimmed. They'd eaten the food Hercules had been wise enough to bring to the trip, and then? Someone had given him a blanket, it smelled of grass and its original color was made indistinguishable by all kinds of stains.

Had it been John's, maybe?

He looked over to John. The boy was still asleep, and he looked peaceful. Alexander's gaze fell upon his left hand. He remembered the scar he'd seen earlier and wondered what had caused it. I might have been from a fight, but John didn't seem like someone who would pick fights with others. But there where so many other possibilities, like an animal attack, or maybe not an animal per se, maybe-

A loud yawn interrupted Alexander's thoughts. Lafayette had woken up and now stretched out, accidentally kicking Hercules, who in turn sat up and, in doing so, put an end to John's sleep.

Suddenly, the small room was filled with "Huh?"s, "Where are we?"s and "Are we there yet?"s, until Lafayette pointed to the window and asked the one question that would end all the others:

"Since when are we moving on land?"

As a matter of fact, Alex noticed, there weren't traveling across the sea anymore, but instead passed through a forest.

"I knew this ship was suspiciously train-looking", he mumbled.

"It can't be that far anymore!" John exclaimed cheerfully, and Lafayette, who had slept with his legs pulled to his chest, put his shoes back on.

"Hey, has anyone seen my wand?" Hercules looked up from the bag he'd rummaged around in.

"Maybe it fell out?", Alex suggested, "It might still be on the overhead shelf, let me take a look."

He climbed on Herc's seat and indeed, he could see a little wooden box on the rack. If he stretched out his arm, he might reach it… Just a little more…

The door flew open and someone entered. Alex couldn't see who it was; the noise had startled him and he stumbled down, losing his balance. He nearly fell, but Hercules quickly reacted and steadied him a bit, however it was not enough to prevent Alex from ending up sitting on the floor.

Alexander cursed under his breath, rubbed his side and looked up. In front of him stood a boy - dark skin, a clean-shaven head and weirdly tidy clothes - who smirked down at him, then stretched out his hand to help him up. He felt the heat rush to his face as he became painfully aware of how stupid his way to the floor must have looked, but he took the hand nonetheless.

"Thank you."

"No problem. My name is Aaron Burr, and I'm supposed to tell y-"

"Wait. You are Aaron Burr?" Alex' eyes grew wide. " _The_ Aaron Burr?"

Burr chuckled. "That depends on who's asking."

"Oh, of course! I am Alexander Hamilton, and I was looking forward to meeting you!"

"I don't know whether I should feel honored or worried."

"I've heard a lot about you! You are Ilvermorny's top student; didn't they ask you to skip a year? How did you manage to _do_ that?" Alex blurted out, then held his breath as he eagerly waited for an answer.

Burr mustered him for a few seconds. Then he simply stated,

"When my parents where on their deathbed, they asked me to promise I wouldn't let anything get in the way of my education. I intend on keeping that promise."

He shook his head. Alex opened his mouth to say something, but Burr quickly proceeded,

"Anyways, Professor King told me to go and let everyone know that we'll arrive soon, so get ready. I see you all at Hogwarts!" And with that, he left.

There was a moment of silence. Hercules picked up the wooden box to check if his wand had survived the fall, which, fortunately, it had.

More silence. Then, Alex turned around.

"Did you _hear_ that?"

"What exactly? The part where you were totally fangirling over someone who'll soon be your classmate or the part where he told how his parents died?" Hercules raised an eyebrow.

Alex ignored him. "He's an _orphan_! Do you know what that _means_?"

"Uh, yeah?", John said. "It means his parents are dead? Which is really sad, by the way, so why, Alex, do you look at us like you just won the lottery?"

" _Because,_ ", Alex beamed, "I'm an orphan too!"

"Damn."

"Je suis désolé."

"I'm sorry, Alex." John looked a bit worried, but more than that, he was confused. "Uhm, still… You look weirdly happy, if I may say so."

Hercules and Lafayette nodded.

Alex shook his head. "Yes, I mean, no –" He sighed. "I am just glad that this isn't something that is going to make me a freak. If Burr got this far all on his own, without a name or any other support from his family, then, I hope, I can make my own mark too. Hogwarts might be my chance to get a fresh start!"

To Alex' surprise, Lafayette looked a bit irritated at his words.

"Do you think _I'm_ a freak?" He crossed his arms.

"No, of course not, I-" Shit. Alex' eyes widened as he remembered that Laf had lost his family too. How could he have forgotten this? Earlier when talking to Washington and King, he had been too focused on the conflict to think about Lafayette's family situation in detail, but now he realized what he'd just implied.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to-" He opened and closed his mouth, speechless for once. Finally, he had found some people he felt comfortable with, and then, _of course_ , he had to go and mess it all up-

"Hey, it's okay.", John intervened. "I'm sure you didn't mean it like that."

He laid his hand on Lafayette's arm.

"Look, we're all exhausted from the trip. And hungry, or at least that's what _I_ am." He laughed, then turned to Alex.

"We've all gone through some bad stuff. What I wanna say is, we're not going to judge you for it." He gave him an encouraging smile.

The lump in Alex' throat grew bigger. He closed his eyes for a moment, then quietly apologized again to Lafayette.

This time, it seemed to land: Lafayette grinned widely and opened his arms.

Before he knew what was happening, Alex found himself in a tight hug. His body tensed up at first as he didn't know what to make of it, but then he took a deep, shaky breath and relaxed. He was surrounded by comforting warmth and noticed that John and Herc had turned this into a group hug. He could feel Lafayette chuckle.

"You're really tiny, you know that?"

"I'm _not_!"

* * *

 **We're getting closer to Hogwarts.**

 **And we finally got Seabury, King George (alias George King - forgive my lack of creativity) and Burr on the stage.**  
 **I know some authors like to incorporate "Aaron Burr, Sir" with an, if possible, word-for-word kind of accuracy, but I find it more fun to ALMOST go there - and then use different words instead.**

 **By the way - the House of Hanover, which is the royal house George III belonged too, stems from the city that I study in. Pretty cool, right?**  
 **(This funfact was brought to you by my younger brother, who's weirdly obsessed with the British kings and queens. He has this huge family tree of them in his room, and I recently replaced the picture of George III with a photo of Jonathan Groff in costume - I'll inform you when my brother notices.)**

 **Reviews butter my toast, y'know.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Cold wind greeted Alex when his feet hit the ground. He turned around to look whether the others were following him and saw them stepping out of the wooden train the ship had apparently turned into.

He wished he'd brought a scarf.

"Ev'ryone, over here - Ah, Mr. Washington, Sir."

"Woah, this guy's huge!" Hercules appeared behind Alex and pointed at the source of the voice that had rumbled over their heads.

Alex agreed. The strange man was taller than anyone he'd ever seen, but other than that, he couldn't make out much from where he was standing.

He stood up on tiptoe to get a better view, but all he could see was Washington, who, followed by King and Seabury, made his way through the crowd of equally excited and exhausted students.

He heard their muffled voices and shortly after, they started moving. Alex allowed the stream of people to push him forward as they walked quietly along a muddy track that led to an open space where countless carriages awaited them.

"How exciting!" Lafayette beamed when they sat down and the carriages started to move. "Invisible horses!" John looked equally fascinated.

Alex had noticed the Thestrals, but couldn't find it in himself to bring them up. Not now.

The carriages passed through a pair of iron gates and continued to follow a narrow path uphill towards a castle in the distance. It was getting dark and fog crept through the woods, but Alex could make out the warm light that shone through the windows in the towers and he immediately felt calmer.

At last, the carriages stopped and the students got out. They made their way up the steps through a giant oak door and came to a halt in the Entrance Hall which was brightly lit by the flames of dozens of torches.

Ahead of them was a beautiful marble staircase, which Washington and King (closely followed by Seabury) were currently walking up so everyone could see them.

From the right, a witch with a pair of rectangular glasses and a stern look on her face walked towards them. Alex saw her exchange a couple of words with Washington, who gave her a small piece of paper. She nodded, put it into one of her pockets and turned around to speak to the students.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. My name is Professor McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress and your future teacher for Transfiguration.

In a moment, you will enter the Great Hall where the banquet awaits you, however before you take a seat, you will be sorted into one of Hogwarts' four Houses. Your House will be your family; you have classes together, shared bedrooms and a Common room where you can spend your free time.

Through your achievements in class you can earn points for your house; but if you break the rules, you can as well lose those points. At the end of the year, the house that scored the most points will be awarded the House Cup.

The four Houses of Hogwarts are called Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Every one of you should do their best to help their House to greatness, and, in trying to do so, you will surely find new friends and feel at home here in no time.

Professor Washington, Professor King, Mr. Seabury, Hagrid – please follow me. I will come back in a moment to get the students, as soon as everything for their Sorting is prepared."

They moved downstairs and disappeared through a door to their right. As soon as the door fell shut behind them, the students started to whisper.

"Do you think they sort the same way as in Ilvermorny?"

"I think they have some sort of hat."

"A _hat?_ How's that supposed to work?"

Alexander, John, Hercules and Lafayette turned around to join the discussion. Alex tried to remember the faces of the people he heard talking: Three girls, the tallest one currently facing a boy who had, as was Alex' first impression, a _lot_ of hair and wore an extravagant-looking velvet coat. Their conversation was listened to by two other boys; Aaron Burr and another one whose face Alex vaguely recognized, he'd seen him in the corridor just before he met Washington for the first time.

"My mum said something about a hat too," Hercules remarked. "She was in Gryffindor."

"Do you know much about the houses, then?" one of the girls asked. She had black hair and a voice that, despite being very soft, was not hard to hear. Alex instantly liked her.

"Uhm, actually, not really…" Herc admitted.

"I don't care where I'll end up in,", the boy in velvet stated, revealing a strong Southern accent. "I just hope this whole Sorting thing will start soon. I'm hungry and I want to sleep in an actual bed again."

Alexander couldn't disagree with him, but something in the tone of his voice was off-putting to him, so he stayed silent. Lafayette, however, didn't seem to share his resentment.

"Oh, you are so right!" His accent seemed to raise interest in his counterpart, and the two struck a conversation that Alex only half-heartedly listened to. The only more or less interesting thing he heard was that the boy's name was Thomas and that he had lived in France for a few years when he was younger.

Before their conversation could get any deeper, Professor McGonagall came back.

"You can leave your bags here; they will be brought to your rooms later. Now please form a line and follow me."

Hercules was the first to walk towards her, Lafayette behind him, and Alexander quickly followed. The door to their right side opened and they entered.

What he saw, took Alex' breath away.

To their left and right were four long tables, filled with shiny golden plates and cups. Alex felt hundreds of curious eyes watching them as they walked past the students and approached a long table at the end of the room. This was apparently where the teachers ate; Alex spotted Washington, who sat next to an old wizard with a long silver-grey beard and radiant eyes that looked at them through small half-moon spectacles.

The most impressive thing however was the ceiling. Thousands of candles wavered through the air and lit the room, and beyond them, he could spot dark clouds that mirrored the sky outside.

Professor McGonagall led them all the way to the teachers' table, where everyone slowly came to a halt, facing the students' tables. McGonagall put a chair in front of them and laid an old, dirty hat on top. Then, she took a step back. Suddenly, the hat started to move.

"To wake me up so soon again, it took persuasion

But I heard, new students would arrive, so of course the occasion

Was well worth the work, I prepared this song

Because you need me to find out where you belong.

There are four different Houses that can be met.

To figure your place out, put me on your head!

I can see your mind, your deepest motivation

I never choose wrong, so no hesitation.

Maybe Gryffindor is your place to thrive

If courage is what you value most in your life.

When loyalty and honest work is what you hold close

Hufflepuff is the House you will fit in most.

If you strive for wisdom and you are eager to learn

Recognition in Ravenclaw you will earn.

Slytherin, the last House, but by no means the least one

If you are ambitious, this is the place to which you should come.

You may be new here, but you can bet

This will soon be your home, trust the Sorting Hat!

Applause broke loose in the hall and Professor McGonagall stepped forward, a long roll of parchment in her hands.

"Burr, Aaron!", she began. "Please sit down and put the hat on."

Burr did as he was told. There was silence for a few seconds, then the hat shouted "SLYTHERIN!"

The second table to the right began to shout and applaud to welcome their new House member.

Alex became more and more nervous. He had observed that sometimes the hat immediately knew where to send a student, sometimes it took a long time for him to decide. What if he decided that Alex wasn't supposed to be here? What if he didn't think he was qualified, after all, he'd never visited a regular Wizarding school before…

He was so caught up in his thoughts that at first, he didn't hear it when Professor McGonagall called "Hamilton, Alexander!". It was only when John slightly nudged him forward that he realized it was his turn.

He sat down and put the hat on. It was far too big and rested on his shoulders more than on his head.

"Who do we have here?" he heard a voice in his head.

"Oh, you have a fast mind, a very fast mind, definitely, and an endless thirst for knowledge, so a Ravenclaw, maybe? You are hot-tempered, you're not afraid to speak your mind – you could be a great Gryffindor. But wait, no, more than anything, you want to prove yourself, make yourself known in the world! Hm, I think I best put you in SLYTHERIN!"

Alex got up, put the hat down and stumbled to the same table Burr had walked to. He sat down, vaguely felt how an older Slytherin patted him on the shoulder, but he just felt lightheaded and only blinked a few times in reaction.

He listened impatiently as "Jefferson, Thomas!" was declared a Ravenclaw, only waiting for his friends from to get sorted. Then, finally, Professor McGonagall called "Laurens, John!" to the front. He sat down, and- silence.

Alex bit his lip. This took longer than usual. One time, the hat opened his mouth, only to close it again. The tension rose, and Alexander wanted nothing more than to hear his friend be declared a Slytherin; _Oh please, let him be a Slytherin let him be a Slytherin, let him be a-_

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The table on the left began to applaud loudly. Before Alex had any time to understand what had happened, the hat sent "Lee, Charles!" to Slytherin, and Lee sat down next to him, grinning triumphantly. He was receiving high-fives by the other Slytherins and raised his hand to give one to Alexander too, but he paid him no mind. Right now, everything that distracted him from the Sorting ceremony was nothing but an annoyance.

Then, after "Lewis, Maria!" was declared a Hufflepuff and "Madison, James" sent over to Ravenclaw, Professor McGonagall put her parchment down and reached into a pocket in her cloak, taking out a small paper. Her eyes widened when she read what it said.

"M-Motier,", she cleared her throat. "Du Motier, Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert." She looked at the students who waited for their Sorting and eyed the paper again. "Marquis de Lafayette!" she added, and Alex saw Lafayette stepping forward.

"Just Lafayette!", he said cheerfully before his head disappeared under the Sorting Hat. It only took a second before the hat shouted "GRYFFINDOR!", and Lafayette went over to his House's table.

Hercules, whose turn it was next, was sent to Gryffindor as well, even though his sorting took a little longer.

Alex quietly listened to the rest of the ceremony, the only time he looked up was when "Schuyler, Angelica!", "Schuyler, Elizabeth!" and "Schuyler, Margarita" were assigned to Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff and Hufflepuff respectively. Well, now he knew the name of the black-haired girl he'd seen earlier – Elizabeth. He briefly wondered if they would have classes together.

After Professor McGonagall had read the last name on her list, she carried the hat away and the teacher next to Washington stood up. He smiled and spread his arms.

"Dear newly-made Hogwarts students – Welcome! My name is Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of this school. And as your headmaster, I have the great honour announce the following: Time! To! Eat!"

Out of nowhere, all kinds of food appeared on the tables. Alex had never seen so much food in one place. Even though (or maybe, because) he didn't recognize most of it, he was determined to try as much as possible.

It was only now that Alexander noticed the many ghosts that must have joined them during the Sorting ceremony. One of them, a not very friendly looking man covered in silver-ish blood sat on their table, though – fortunately – pretty far away from Alex.

"So, are you happy to be in Slytherin?", Burr asked him after they had started to eat.

Alex looked up from the baked potatoes on his plate. He noticed the curious looks on the other Slytherin's faces. "Well, the hat believes that this is where I belong, right?" That, apparently, had been a good thing to say.

"And you should feel honoured, too!" A boy, about two years younger than Alex, said proudly. "We have quite a reputation, you know! Not everyone can get into Slytherin!"

"Are there any requirements? I thought the decision was entirely up to the hat?"

"Sure," an older girl said, "But we're all Purebloods. Well, _almost_. But this should exemplify the quality of wizards you can find here."

"Don't listen.", another boy interrupted. "She likes to show off her blood status because there is nothing else she can be proud of."

"Uhh, so your mascot is a snake?", Burr changed the topic before a fight could start.

"And green is our trademark colour. So far, so obvious.", the girl snarked.

"Then tell us something else. Something that's actually helpful, maybe." Alex didn't like her at all, but here he was now, and he wanted to make the best of this situation.

Instead of her, the older boy answered. "Do you see the teacher with the black hair, over there? That's Professor Snape, our Head of House. He teaches Potions, but everyone knows, he'd much prefer teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"Then why doesn't he?" Alexander asked, curious.

"No one knows, not officially. BUT, Dumbledore was in Gryffindor, so I'd say he just doesn't want a Slytherin to get the spot. Gryffindors and Slytherins have a history of being not exactly best friends."

"What?" Alexander choked on a potato, and Burr hit him on the back until he stopped coughing. " _Why?_ "

"Trust me," the third-year said. "You won't be asking that when you have classes with them. They are the absolute _worst._ "

"They believe everything revolves around them _._ " The girl shrugged. "If they want to think that, that's their business. But don't think for a second that you have to take any of their shit."

Alex looked over to the Gryffindor table. He could see Hercules laughing and talking to an older boy with flaming red hair. He decided to focus on his food instead. If this was supposed to work out somehow, he would have to start living with what he had.

Eventually, when Alex felt like he had eaten at least thrice his usual amount of dinner, all leftovers magically disappeared and Professor Dumbledore stood up.

"If this was a regular Sorting like the ones we get to experience at the beginning of every school year, I would now inform you about the general rules that apply to every student. However, taking into consideration that you have a long journey behind you, I won't keep you away from your beds any longer and leave the task of explaining to the Prefects."

Dumbledore raised his wand and from the tip emerged a golden line that flew over the tables and formed the words to a song.

"Our school's anthem! Everyone to their own melody!"

It was loud and chaotic, but the spirit of happiness that filled the room washed over Alexander and he joined the cacophony with his own musical interpretation of the lyrics.

After everyone had finished, Alex followed Burr and the stream of Slytherin students to their Common room. One of the prefects, a girl that introduced herself as "Gemma Farley", led the former-Ilvermorny-now-Hogwarts-students to their dormitories.

"Usually, four people share a room, but, uh, you are the last three. See you tomorrow, and remember, the password to the Common room is _Parselmouth_." She smiled. "Listen, you are a part of the Slytherin House now. So whenever you need something, just ask, and you will find someone who will help you. Good night!"

She left Alexander and his new roommates, namely Burr and Lee, in a small chamber that was filled with three poster-beds, nightstands, and dressers. Someone had already brought their bags up, and additionally, three sets of the Hogwarts school uniform for Slytherin students lay on the floor. Alex sat down on one of the beds and let his fingers glide over the green silk hangings. It was only now that he realized how tired he really was.

He changed into his pajamas and went to bed. His thoughts briefly wandered to his Gryffindor friends and he wondered whether they shared a room and if it was as nice as the one he was now living him. The thought of seeing them again the next day made him happy. So what if he was in a different House! Plus he shared a room with Aaron Burr, which was already more than he'd hoped for.

Alex closed his eyes. He heard someone say "Good night!" and mumbled a response before he finally relaxed and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **I know, I know, we (by which I mean me and my anonymous co-author/friend) probably didn't sort every character the way you would, but we have our reasons. So let's make a compromise: As I said last week, I will upload every Wednesday. However, with University coming up, I might not be able to keep that pace. So how about whenever I don't have a new chapter ready to post here, I will upload a Oneshot of the Sorting, always told from another character's perspective? That way you will still get new Hamilton/Hogwarts content every week and at the same time, I get to explain why we sorted the characters the ways we did. Deal?**

 **Oh, maybe you wonder why Lafayette can't see the Thestrals - yes, his family passed away, but for this story, let's say he wasn't actually with them when they died.**

 **I've never written a poem or anything like that in English, so if the Hat's song was kind of cringey - blame it on the fact that the Hat only had about a week to come up with it.**

 **Gemma Farley WAS a Slytherin prefect, but (probably) not in 1989. I really, really don't want to create OCs unless I absolutely HAVE to, so I chose to play around with the timelines instead. Unfortunately, most named Slytherins that went to school during the year this story takes place in, are from the mobile game "Hogwarts: A Mystery", which I haven't played (and won't in the near future bc my phone doesn't support the game). So all the information I have about them is from the Harry Potter wiki, and I don't really know their story, so... eh. I will figure something out.**

 **Until then - have a nice week!**


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